Olivia and the Movie Stars by Lyn Gardner

can’t be sure,” said Olivia. “I just have to trust my instincts and believe that she really has changed.”
    “And if it’s a trap?” asked Georgia.
    “I’ll be relying on you three to bail me outin whatever way you can. Pass me that torch,” she said. She took it from Ayesha, slung it round her neck and stepped out on to the wire.
    “Good luck!” called Aeysha.
    “Take care, Liv,” said Tom.
    “Don’t look down,” said Georgia helpfully. Tom and Aeysha frowned at her. “Sorry, Livy. It just popped out because I’m nervous.”
    But Olivia was grinning, even although they couldn’t see her face. “I’ll try and follow your advice, Georgia,” she called into the wind. She felt so sure that everything was going to be all right.
    As soon as she stepped on to it, the wire sagged slightly. Olivia shifted her balance and then walked quickly along the wire. Georgia and Aeysha both held their breath. It never failed to amaze them the way that Olivia walked the wire as if she had completely solid ground beneath her feet. It didn’t seem to matter to her that she was over thirty metres up in the air; she behaved as if she was taking a stroll in the park.
    Her friends all breathed again when Olivia reached the surround of the building opposite and tensed as she negotiated her way over the parapet and on to the roof. Olivia scrambledupwards towards a small battered-looking window and perched on the raked roof. She took a screwdriver out of her pocket and slid it into the frame of the window. It gave easily. She had to duck slightly to avoid the edge of the window as she pulled it outwards and then she scrambled over the sill. Once inside she switched on her torch, blew the others a kiss and then disappeared.
    Inside the building, Olivia shivered as she looked around her. It was a warmish spring evening but the building felt cold and damp as years of neglect had taken their toll. It was very dark inside and she was glad of the torch, but it was still a gloomy and scary place to be on your own. The top floor of the building must once have been used by a business as it was divided into offices. In some of the rooms there were still desks and chairs, and great old metal filing cabinets, their drawers hanging open and empty. On some desks there were a few discarded files covered in dust, some splattered with pigeon droppings. There were even a few old mugs left on desks as if their owners had just been called away, and one desk boasted an empty crisp packet and a desiccated plant.Above it was pinned an old calendar, a faded good-luck card and a photo of a long-forgotten office Christmas party in which everyone was wearing silly hats.
    It reminded Olivia of the time that she and Eel and Jack had been in Italy and they’d visited Pompeii. The city had been destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 and had been preserved under layers of ash. She had experienced the eerie feeling that the dead from all those centuries ago might return at any moment to reclaim their houses and carry on with what they had been doing the moment before catastrophe struck and they were suddenly engulfed by lava. She got the same feeling now and even wondered if the building might be haunted.
    Olivia took a few steps and the floor creaked badly. She knew that she had to be careful because the floor could have rotted in places. Take a wrong step and she might plunge through to the floor below. She took a good look around and felt rather puzzled. There was no sign of any building work going on here. If you were going to start work on a building like this, either to restore it or demolishit, surely the first thing you’d do was empty it out completely? She headed towards the stairs that led down to the next floor and as she did so, something flashed past her. She gave a little cry of fear and her heart began to boom, feeling as if it had suddenly become too big for her chest. She swung her torch wildly around and found a